Lovely memoir in poetry about Edward Hirsch's son, who passed away
from an overdose.
The poem starts at Gabriel's
funeral and goes through his death as well as Gabriel's very troubled life. Lyrical and sad, and very thoughtful about
grief.
I adore this quote:
"I did not know the work of mourning
Is like carrying a bag of cement
Up a mountain at night ….
Look closely and you will see
Almost everyone is carrying bags
Of cement on their shoulders
That's why it takes courage
To get out of bed in the morning
And climb into the day." (p. 73)